Actuators are used to operate, thanks to the mechanical energy supplied by their motor, mobile elements of the opening type, roller screens or sun protections. A user may control the movements of this element by pressures on control keys of a control module.
In the cases of very simple control modules comprising only two keys associated with the two directions of movement of the element, even comprising only one key to provide sequential control of the movements of the mobile element in both directions and stop, it is often necessary to provide a specific tool for configuring the actuator, by defining, for example, a top end-of-travel, a bottom end-of-travel, a preferred intermediate position and also for associating the various keys of the control module with a direction of rotation of the motor.
The configuration operations may be carried out on the one hand while the actuator is integrated into the element to be operated which is for example a roller shutter or a blind, and on the other hand after the actuator has been integrated into the element during installation on site. The configuration steps may be carried out manually or, for example for the entry of end-of-travel positions, automatically if the actuators have electronic means allowing same (for example by detection of stops).
New, subsequent configuration operations, called resetting operations, may take place during the life cycle of the device comprising the mobile element and the actuator. These operations may in particular take place during maintenance phases. These resetting operations are relatively rare in the life of the device, but they must however be envisaged. Resetting operations may take place for example just after the set-up, if the installer wishes to make modifications to the positions set.
There is a large number of possible procedures allowing the configuration of an actuator.
Utility model DE 296 20 199 U and application DE 196 54 387 inform of a method for entering times at which movement commands can be sent to a privacy device. In this method, a pressure on a control button for a particular duration is interpreted as a programming command.
Application EP 0 822 315, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in the present application, informs for example of a device for controlling the power supply of an asynchronous electric motor in which a short-circuiting of the phase lines allowing the rotation of the motor in a first direction and in a second direction by a simultaneous pressure on keys for controlling the rotation of the motor in the first direction and in the second direction places the control electronics in a configuration mode.
Patent FR 2 654 229, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in the present application, also informs of a motor control method. In this method, a simultaneous pressure for more than four seconds on the keys controlling the rotation of the motor in the two opposing directions is interpreted as a command to switch to configuration mode.
A further simultaneous pressure may be used to confirm an entry or to quit the configuration mode.
Similarly, the control electronics of an actuator may be directly placed in configuration mode when it is powered up for the first time. The control electronics may also be placed in configuration mode by a known operation called mains disconnection, that is to say that it reacts to a sequence calibrated in time comprising interruptions of the electricity supply.
In most cases, various modes of operating the actuator are thus defined (operating mode and configuration mode), in which similar actions on the control module are interpreted differently. In configuration mode, it is usually necessary to be able to move the mobile element, and therefore to have Up and Down controls, in order to adjust the positions to be entered for example, and to confirm the configuration steps. This poses a problem particularly when there are few keys and/or when the keys cannot be actuated simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,159, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in the present application, informs of a device for operating a closure element. The device comprises a control module furnished with two keys used respectively for controlling the operation of the operating element in a first direction and in a second direction. To place this device in a configuration mode, it is necessary to actuate at least twice one or other of the keys, each in a predefined time frame and shorter than the duration of actuation used to control the movement of the closure element. No movement command is recognized during this predefined time frame. Thus, when there is a desire to control the movement of the closure element, the control key has to be actuated for a duration greater than that of the predefined time frame.
The latter solution provides an alternative to the procedures provided in the prior art and in particular in application EP 0 822 315 and patent FR 2 654 229. On the other hand, a delay to the start of the actuator must be introduced to allow the interpretation of the duration of pressure on a control key. These delays to the starting of the motor may be annoying in use. Specifically, it is usual to obtain an immediate response from the controlled device following an action carried out on a control module.
The aim of the invention is to supply a method of operating a closure, privacy or sun protection device improving the known methods of the prior art and alleviating the aforementioned disadvantages. In particular, the invention proposes a method of operating a device in which the control commands, entered by means of a control module, are executed immediately by the device and in which the initial and subsequent configuration operations may be carried out with the very simply constructed control module comprising for example only two control keys.